Divya Khosla Kumar counters Sonu Nigam's allegations point by point

After singer Sonu Nigam slammed T-Series head honcho Bhushan Kumar in a video earlier this week, the latter’s wife, actress-director Divya Khosla Kumar, responded with a couple of Instagram Stories. She has now posted a long video on Instagram to counter Nigam's allegations.

Nigam had accused Bhushan Kumar of letting only some chosen singers showcase their talent. Divya Kumar said T-Series had given a break to "thousands" of newcomers who had no connection with the film industry. On the contrary, she said, Nigam had never given any newcomer a break.

“Tell me how many new people have you given a chance? You never brought any newcomer to us. You have never introduced a new talent in the industry. It is very easy to speak from behind a camera on social media. But how many people did you give a chance from ground level? None! Except yourself, you haven’t given any chance to anyone else,” she said.

She claimed that Bhushan's father, the late Gulshan Kumar, picked Nigam up from a place where he used to get a paltry amount for performing. “Sonu Nigam himself used to sing at Ramleela events for Rs5," she said. "Gulshan Kumar spotted his talent and brought him to Mumbai by giving him plane tickets. He made so many albums with you and made you a star.”

Divya Kumar recalled the period when Gulshan Kumar was shot dead (the music mogul was killed on 12 August 1997) and claimed that Nigam thought T-Series would be finished. According to her, Nigam then tied up with another music company. “Bhushan was only 18 then, so Sonu Nigam thought he won’t know how to run the company and it will shut. He never thought of being there for T-Series at the time of crisis and helping Bhushan,” she said.

The singer had also claimed that Bhushan Kumar had sought his help against gangster Abu Salem. Countering the claim, she said, “I would like to ask Sonu Nigamji why Bhushanji came to you to save himself from Abu Salem? One should investigate this. Did Sonu Nigamji have relations with Abu Salem? Definitely he had and that’s why Bhushan approached Sonu.”

Nigam had also threatened to release a video in which a newcomer actress allegedly accused Bhushan Kumar of harassment in 2018. Divya Kumar called it blackmail.

“The police also said this is a clear case of blackmail," she said. "But we didn’t lodge a complaint for defamation. We didn’t go to the media as well as we didn’t want to ruin a girl’s reputation."

Pointing out that an accusation isn’t the same as a guilty verdict, she said. “If I accuse you of #MeToo rape, will you be considered #MeToo rapist then?”

Divya Kumar then said she has been receiving rape threats while Bhushan Kumar and their son are receiving death threats ever since Nigam released his video. She went on to claim that some struggling actresses have started blackmailing her husband after the video came out.

“We have started receiving blackmailing calls from girls. They have been inspired by Sonu Nigam’s video and are asking for money or a break, failing which they will level #MeToo charges against Bhushan,” she added.

Nigam's marriage had run into trouble some years ago when wife Madhurima had levelled some charges against him. Recalling that, Divya Kumar said, “Your wife herself revealed what kind of person you are. She has accused you in front of everyone.”

Nigam, meanwhile, got back with Divya Kumar in an unusual manner. Since she had disabled comments on her video on Instagram, Nigam shared the same video on his Instagram page and enabled comments.